Imagine a future where part of the United States and most of Canada has returned to the Native Americans. A future of self-governing for the American Indians, in their own nations, and amongst one another. This future needs no reservations, as the American Indians are finally free. It is a future full of promise, but also a future that can be very dark.

Is this just a fantasy? Possibly, but it is one that has been envisioned in a game called Shadowrun. Many concepts and legends of the American Indian have been incorporated into the background of this game. Unfortunately, people unknowledgeable misinterpreted a few concepts with American Indians. Still, the setting has made Shadowrun a very popular game.

A company called FASA created Shadowrun in 1989 (Mulvihill, pg 5). The game is a role-playing game, descended from the first of its kind on the market, Dungeons and Dragons. Shadowrun looks at the events in a possible future; however, instead of using the mythical high fantasy past of most role-playing games. Shadowrun has become the third most popular game of its type in the world. Only Dungeons and Dragons, along with Vampire: The Masquerade, are more popular. Shadowrun has yet to suffer the bad publicity both of the other games have had.

The ties to the Native American cultures start with the initial history behind Shadowrun, as the players are playing after these events occurred. In the year 2011, the Mayan Calendar marks the end of the Fifth World and the beginning of a new Sixth World. Shadowrun focuses on the changes the Sixth World brings. According to the back-story, those "Worlds" that are even numbered are ages of magic. The Fourth World ended with the fall of Atlantis. The Sixth World begins with the appearance of magic and dragons. (Mulvihill, pg 25)

Resources are scarce at this point in time, and there is a rush by both corporations and the governments of the world to secure precious minerals. In order to find more raw materials, the United States government has ignored environmental concerns and reservation boundaries. Once again, the lands owned by the American Indians are threatened. This time, the government decides it will not bother with any sort of negotiations and will just kick the Indians off the land.

Native Americans of all types rise up against the government. They form the Sovereign American Indian Movement (SAIM) to combat the United States. SAIM, the future version of the current American Indian Movement (AIM) is much more radical. It is not very long before SAIM resorts to terrorism. (Mulvihill, pg 25)

SAIM’s major act of terrorism is called the Lone Eagle Incident. Members of SAIM raid and take over a ballistic missile silo in Colorado. When the United States Army attacks them, the missile in the silo is launched at Russia. Mysteriously, the missile never impacts. The incident turns general public opinion against Native Americans.

In response, Indians are herded into true concentration camps. Their land was now free for exploitation by the government and corporations. It looked like the Indian tribes were finally going to be destroyed. It was at this time, in December 2011, the Sixth World arrived.

Daniel Howling Coyote, an Ute Indian, is the first to discover the change. Magic has returned to the world, and Howling Coyote is the first person to be able to use it. He uses his new magical ability to break out of the concentration camp with an army of loyal followers. Soon, Indian medicine men of all tribes become proficient in the use of magic. It was time for the Indians to fight back. (Findley, v. 1, pg 74)

The United States government issued an order that people in the 20^th Century would consider abhorrent. Agreed to by a shaken Congress, the United States ordered genocide for the Native American peoples within its borders. Canada joined the United States, and both nations had initial success against the Indians. The Kiowa tribe ceased to exist, for example. (Findley, v.1, pg 123)

Howling Coyote refused to be cornered. His magic foiled any attempts to capture either him or his army of Indians. The United States and Canada attempted to mount a full military offensive against Howling Coyote’s northwest mountain stronghold, near Mount Rainier. Strange weather conditions prevented the attack for three days. On the fourth day, the offensive started.

The bad weather’s meaning was suddenly apparent, and once again Native American history was used in the game background. In the 1880’s, the Great Ghost Dance was a cult following among the Indians. Wovoka, its founder, taught that by dance, the white man would be defeated and the Indians would be free. Followers of the Ghost Dance were massacred at Wounded Knee in 1890, effectively ending its religion. (Waldman, pg 158)

The Sixth World’s arrival changed this situation. Daniel Howling Coyote was the descendant of Wovoka. The strange weather changes were caused by the resumption of the Great Ghost Dance by Howling Coyote’s followers. Magic allowed the Great Ghost Dance to work this time, and its power was released on the fourth day as the offensive commenced. Not only did all of the forces against the Indians get destroyed, but it also caused the simultaneous eruption of every volcano in the "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific Ocean.

Having no other choice, the United States and Canada sued for peace. No longer could the United States government oppress the Native Americans, because the Native Americans could now fight back. Northern, central, and western Canada, along with the Mountain Time Zone area of the United States, was surrendered to the Native Americans. The Native Americans created eight nations of their own out of the territory. These nations, called the Native American Nations (NAN) became the home once again for the surviving Indian tribes of North America. Mexico became Atzlan once again, as the people there attempted to reclaim their Aztec heritage. (Findley, v.1, pg 75)

This is the scenario portrayed in the game. Other items occur before the game actually starts. The latest edition of the game starts out in the year 2060. Pueblo Corporate Council, Ute Nation, Sioux Nation, and Salish-Sidhe Nation are those nations that exist in the Mountain Time Zone (Findley, v.1, pg 73-136). Athabascan Nation, Algonklin-Manitoo Council, Tsimshan Nation, and the Trans-Polar Aleut Nation are in the land that Canada gave up (Findley, v.2, pg 57-111). Additionally, the use of totems is a very important part of the game.

Unfortunately, on closer examination, the game stumbles when it gets to this point. The countries created for the Indians have numerous problems, for example. Some tribes are placed in areas based on their language family, instead of where the tribes actually existed. The Apache and Navajo are the two biggest examples. Both tribes are supposedly located in the Algonkian-Manitoo Council. (Findley, v.2, pg 61) Both tribes existed in the southwestern United States, however, even though their language was derived from the Athapascan family. (Waldman, pg 228) Additionally, Apache and Navajo tend to dislike one another in the 20^th Century, thus calling into question whether they would get along together in the same nation.

This problem is minor compared to two other glaring errors. The first is the disappearance of many well-known tribes without any sort of explanation. A short list of tribes forgotten would include the Omaha, Winnebago, and Ponca. Still, even these tribes do not compared to the disappearance of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Nez Perce, Cherokee, and Seminole tribes. All of these, plus many more, are not mentioned in any of the 20 supplements for Shadowrun.

The second major error is the adaptation of totems. Totems are powerful in the game. They allow a shaman access to magical abilities. The game’s authors distort the depiction of totems. The Buffalo totem, one of the most important totems to Plains Indian tribes, was not even described until the latest edition of Shadowrun. (Mulvihill, pg 163) Problems like these mar the game.

Shadowrun’s popularity is increasing. (Marcucci, pg 1) Consequentially, it gives many that are ignorant of the plight of the American Indian some knowledge of what has happened in the past. Additionally, the game is easy for beginners to learn. Despite the problems with its interpretations of the American Indian, the fact such a game exists that focuses on the Native American struggle, and is so popular, is a positive sign.

Shadowrun: Third Edition, Michael Mulvihill with Robert Boyle, FASA Publications, copyright 1998, 336 pages.

Native American Nations: Volume One, Nigel D. Findley, FASA Publications, copyright 1991, 136 pages.

Native American Nations: Volume Two, Nigel D. Findley, FASA Publications, copyright 1991, 111 pages.

Atlas of the North American Indian, Carl Waldman and Molly Brown, Facts on File Publications, copyright 1985, 276 pages.